Divine Provision

“Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, ‘Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.’ So, the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.” [1]

The Word of the Lord preserved the life of the woman and her son throughout seven years of famine. It should be noted that she believed what God’s messenger told her and put feet to her faith. Previously, God had used the prophet of His Word to raise her son from death to life. Would God really preserve her family during seven years of famine?

The Lord led her to go to a neighboring country. Like King David [2], she went to the land of her enemies during a time of difficulty and God preserved her family there. Thus, King David wrote…

“You [My Shepherd and Lord] prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” [3]

“It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land.

Then the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, ‘Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.’ Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, ‘My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.’ And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So, the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, ‘Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.’” [4]

I wonder if any of us Bible-believing Christians were about to experience a time of famine, and the Lord gave us a word from a reputable prophet of God that directed us to a foreign land among our enemies, would we go? Granted… God had used Elisha to raise her son to life. Still, she could have doubted his counsel on this occasion, but she did not.

She trusted in the Lord, in the Lord’s Word and in the Lord’s servant, and God came through for her. What is more, when she returned to her homeland after the seven years of famine ended, the Lord arranged it so that the servant of Elisha was talking about her to the king, and the king restored her property to her, plus as a bonus, all the back-pay that was due her. Praise the Lord!

What is it that you need from the Lord today? Why not just ask the Lord for it? Jesus Christ gave His life for you on the cross to redeem you from your sin. In Christ, all your sins are forgiven, and God remembers them no more. In Christ, you are an adopted child of God. You are in the family! Listen to God! Stand by His promises! All things are possible with God!

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” [5]

How do we overcome in times of difficulties?

“By the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their [the saints’] testimony.” [6]

[1] 2 Kings 8:1-2
[2] 1 Samuel 27
[3] Psalm 23:5-6
[4] 2 Kings 8:3-6
[5] Romans 8:31-32
[6] Revelation 12:11